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Northern Widow

Latrodectus variolus

Photography by: Mark Fogler - Newaygo County, Mi.

Description - Hollywood tends to use only one kind of Black Widow in its films. It is always shown as a shiny black spider with a red hourglass on the underneath side. However, this is not exactly the only species of the Black Widow that is out there. Here in Michigan, we have one particular species, called the Northern Black Widow. In the Northern Widow, the female, male, and immature spider can all look different. When the Northern Widow is young, the abdomen will have red markings down the back, as well as white and yellow stripes on the sides. As they reach adulthood, the male Northern Widows will keep those markings, but it will stop eating and live with only one purpose, to mate. As it wanders, looking for a mate, the abdomen will shrink. The Adult Female, will lose the white and yellow markings on the side for the most part. In some cases they will retain some of the markings, but for the majority, they will only retain the red spots down the back.

Size - The body in an adult female is about half an inch (13mm) from front to back. Including the legs, the adult female black widow can be about 1.5 inches (38mm).

Web - The Widow spider’s web is very erratic and tangled looking. The spider will often hang upside down in the web and wait for an insect to get caught up in the web.

Bites - Black Widows are not an aggressive spider, but on occasion, they will bite if they are defending themselves, or an egg sac. The bite does not always have the worst effects, and it is very rare that the bite will be lethal. It is more dangerous to the elderly and small children. The bite of a Northern Widow might only feel like a pinprick at first. There may be local swelling and intense pain in the limbs, chest and muscle pain as well as tremors, labored breathing, nausea, profuse perspiration, vomiting, cold and clammy skin and a weak pulse. The victim may become unconscious and convulsions may occur.

Range - There are several different species of the Widow spiders found in America. You can see the maps showing the ranges of different species here.